History of 'F'
by Dr. Drizzy
Summary: A short agglomeration of chapters detailing the backstory and history of Freeza, his family and his species. Freeza was born with an immense battle power, impressive even to his family's standards. The Dragon World is about to drastically change thanks to the arrival of this overwhelming strength.
1. Coronation of the Universe's Strongest

I'm usually not one to enjoy such overwhelming festivity. However, even I can't help but flaunt a modest smile as I continuously keep being greeted on my way towards the palace. Today is an important day in the history of planet Hail as it marks the coronation of a new king. Perhaps I shouldn't smile, as nobody is truly happy that a new king is being appointed to the throne. Rather, the common folk are merely displaying their joy that the time King Artic ruled over them with an iron fist has passed. Foolishly, I may add, as the throne will be passed down to King Artic's son, Cold. So, if the lineage is the same, what makes these commoners think the soon-to-be King will be any less ruthless than the previous? Perhaps it's simply wishful thinking that there will be change. Be that as it may, it matters not to me. As soon as my battle power surpasses my father's, I will be the one to rule over Hail and the entire Hailan empire.

"Prince Coola!" It seems I got so caught up in my fantasies that I failed to notice that one of the guards at the palace's entrance was calling for me. "Will you be attending your father's coronation or are you here for other matters?"

"I'll greet my father in his chambers, but I most likely won't be attending the full ceremony." I checked the guard's outfit. It seems the royal army has already been updated with the new armor. In addition to that, the ever-present scouter technology developed by the Tsufruians. An intriguing species, the Tsufruians, to say the least; they seem entirely complacent in developing technology for planet Hail as long as we provide them with the necessary resources. Their planet has a problem with an invasive species, the barbaric Saiyans, but they have refused military assistance. Having them perish would be inconvenient, but there's no telling how these Saiyans may develop. They're low in number, so not much information is kept on them, but it is known, at least, that they do possess the necessary technology for space travel, as they were not native to planet Plant.

"Father," I call out to him as he seems to be preparing himself for the coronation. He's wearing a brand new armor. On top of that, a new addition to his attire: a cape of sorts. Grandfather never wore one, but I guess father has always been more pompous than him. "Are you ready?"

"Oh, Coola. Yes, I'm almost done. Will you be attending the ceremony?" He seems to already know what my answer will be or he doesn't care, since he keeps adjusting himself in the mirror whilst speaking to me.

"No. I promised myself to be present when brother is born."

"Oh, yes, Freeza. He should hatch from the egg at any time now," he said as he finally distanced himself from his mirror and faced me. "I have some time. Do you want to check on him before the celebrations begin?" I nodded.

Father laid the egg approximately four years ago. Freeza's taking a rather substantial amount of time to hatch, but he's still within the normal incubation period, meaning there's no risk of danger to his health as of now. The egg is located inside the palace, as any other place would be susceptible to an attack from those resentful towards the royal family. Even so, I've made it my mission to check on him every day and guarantee his safety. This will be the only time my little brother will be needing any kind of protection, however. It's almost guaranteed he'll be born with an abnormal strength level; he has my father's blood after all. Even if born with a mere battle power of five thousand units, it's still enough to completely outclass the average Hailan warrior.

"Soon," father interjects my thoughts. "Soon, the entire Hailan empire will be ours to rule over, son. Can you imagine that? With our ambition and power, we can achieve much more than my father did."

Father isn't wrong. King Artic's battle power was extraordinary, perhaps the greatest in the history of our planet, but he never displayed much interest in expanding the empire to the great heights father dreams about. Despite having other planets under his rule, all of our ancestors always seemed far more concerned with Hail. Perhaps they were afraid of conflict with the crews of space pirates present here in the North Galaxy or of attracting the attention of the other empires in the neighboring galaxies. These concerns are of low importance to the new king, however. Father is definitely going to seek conflict and expand on the territory he rules over.

"The entire galaxy will be mine. Perhaps even the entire universe!" He declares this with a fearless look in his eye. "And when you surpass me, all that we'll have achieved will be yours to do as you please. I'll take a step back and act as your counselor." It's Hailan tradition that the royal family passes the throne to the strongest member of the species. Of course, said individual is free to refuse the crown. Nevertheless, the throne has remained in our family for generations, ever since our ancestor King Chilled. The previous king's regime was, by far, the longest, as he ruled unchallenged. Father was never able to surpass him before King Artic died of old age.

We've arrived at the room Freeza's egg is being stored in. Two guards are securing the glass chamber filled with the blue revitalization liquid the Tsufruians provide us with. I can faintly recognize them. Glaze and Blizzard, the two brothers are among the elite of the royal army. I would trust nobody to keep an eye on Freeza's egg and would take the task on myself, but father seems to have almost complete faith on these two soldiers. It's possible that he may think that losing Freeza's life would be of no consequence to him, as he already has a successor. Father is a cold-hearted enough person to lead me to believe he may have these thoughts in his head. Even so, under no circumstances am I letting one of my own perish if I can prevent it.

"Lord Cold!" Glaze, the younger brother, greets his king, bowing. The other guard soon follows. Both of them seem to have ignored me. It's irksome, but calling attention to that fact would only make the prince seem petty, so I refrain from doing so. "You came at the right time! The egg has been moving frequently in the last few days, it seems to be close to hatching."

"Wonderful news." I establish my presence and approach the glass. "Have you measured his battle power yet?"

"Not yet," Blizzard says. "That's something to do only after the egg hatches."

"Not that it matters," the king speaks. "If he truly is my son, then his initial battle power should only be a fraction of what his future holds. It's when he reaches full maturity that his battle power begins to develop. Coola here is the perfect example."

"What was my battle power at birth?" I think I've never asked this question, nor was the information ever given to me, so the time seems appropriate.

"About ten thousand."

"That low?" I would have been more disappointed if not for father's previous statement. As well as the fact that currently my battle power is unmeasurable by any scouter technology.

"Ten thousand would have been something to be proud of if you were part of any other family. When I was born, we didn't have access to scouter technology yet, but estimates now calculate it to have been around the fifty thousand mark. Hey, boy!" Father calls out to the younger guard.

"Yes?"

"What is your battle power? Your current one, I mean."

"Forty… Forty eight thousand, sir."

Father couldn't help but smile at his own grandeur as soon as he heard those words escape the soldier's mouth. To have your battle power at birth be higher than one of our top soldiers is an impressive feat, indeed. But it strikes me as a bit hypocritical to bring up this point shortly after stating that battle powers at birth are irrelevant. The two guards are staring at us in awe while we speak of such large numbers so casually. It's obvious they would kill to possess even a fraction of our powers. Perhaps that's why so little has opposed our family; when the heirs have such astronomical strength, it leaves any conspiring opposition disheartened.

As I pay closer attention to the white egg, I notice a crack. It's small, but it's definitely present. "The egg is cracking!" Father walked calmly towards the glass, but I couldn't conceal my excitement and placed my hands on the chamber almost unconsciously.

"Step away from the glass," father stated. "The egg is most sensitive at this time. We don't want to damage Freeza in any way. What perfect timing, my son! It's almost as if you knew we would be visiting you on this faithful day."

The egg quickly began quivering as more and more cracks started to emerge. I'm now able to see my brother's body clearly. He's tiny, smaller than me. Surprising, considering I'm below the average height of our species. I'm a bit fearful that his battle power will be low as a result, but that's entirely unimportant at the moment, I should focus my full attention on brother's birth. I shouldn't be excited about the prospect of a younger brother, but the thought of having a loyal partner delights me. In reality, I shouldn't even feel the need to justify myself, as father is the exception in the lineage and the only one who seems distant towards his family members. The egg cracks now float around in the blue liquid. Freeza's body is no longer concealed. The older guard, Blizzard, quickly began to measure Freeza's battle power as soon as father looked in his direction.

"I'm… Impossible…"

"What? What's his battle power?" I inquire, now curious about my little brother's future as a soldier of the Hailan empire.

"It's… two hundred thousand… and it doesn't stop increasing…"

"What?!" Father immediately pulls off the scouter of the younger guard and begins measuring Freeza's battle power himself. "Three hundred thousand… Four hundred…" The two scouters then burst into pieces. "Five hundred thirty thousand… and rising…"

There's no telling how high Freeza's battle power will rise now. He may even surpass me or father as a baby! That's unheard of. That's too much power. How is he so strong? I can't react. His power fractured the glass. The liquid is now pouring out. As I look behind me, the two soldiers are on the floor, it seems like Freeza's power pushed them down. "Father!" I call out to him. Half of me is in fear, the other half in euphoria. Father doesn't seem to be paying any attention to me and keeps observing brother's movements.

"Lord Cold! Prince Coola! We must… control Prince Freeza's power! At this rate…!" I heard Blizzard's voice from behind. As I turned around and saw that the sheer pressure of Freeza's immense energy was keeping these elite soldiers unable to move, I smirked. This is great! Father's dreams can come true now. With Freeza's power, we'll rule over the entire universe!

"It's… too much!" Glaze barely musters enough energy to speak. The room is now starting to shake and it's collapsing under the weight of the energy Freeza is emitting. Not just the room, I suspect the entire palace is trembling. Perhaps even the entire planet is suffering the effects of brother's birth. Regardless of whatever is happening, one thing I know for sure: father and I are the only beings on the planet capable of withstanding this typhoon of power.

A cloak of purple energy started to cover Freeza and, in a single instant, the entire room was shrouded by a blinding light. I open my eyes. In front of me only Freeza… and the dusk of the cosmos. Useless rocks, remnants of the planet, float around me, as if mocking me for being unable to stop what had just happened. I turn around, father is still alive, undamaged just as I. Too close! Far too close! A bigger planet and the resulting explosion would have left us all heavily damaged. Freeza's asleep, he must have exhausted himself.

I can't believe it. Our planet is gone. Our species, our army, most of our empire! I must put father at ease before he gets outraged. Wait… father is smiling? No, he's laughing, even.

"Incredible… Truly incredible, Freeza! This is it, this is what I've been waiting for! With this, we'll be able to crush everyone that stands in our way! Freeza, my son, you have the greatest might in the universe!"

What is father saying? Can he not see how dangerous Freeza's power is? If Freeza is unable to control it properly, he can accidentally end our life with it. Relying on him is a big mistake.

"Father! Father! Do you hear me? We must help Freeza control his power before it turns into a problem for us!" It's useless. Father isn't listening. He's too focused on his own thoughts. I can comprehend him. The prospect of ruling over the universe is enticing. But does he not think of the potential consequences? We've just lost our planet, his kingdom, our strongest soldiers all perished, does he not care? No, he's too fixated on his fantasy right now. The shock of what just happened will soon come crashing down. I must calm myself down. If father doesn't listen, then I'll be sure to be voice of reason when the time comes. We may have lost our planet, but I'll make sure that an overdependence on Freeza's power will not be our downfall.


	2. Wavering Resolve

It has been over forty years since Freeza was born. Forty years since my home planet was destroyed by him. Brother took command over the Hailan empire soon after his birth, which he promptly renamed to the Freeza empire. The change in leadership occurred five years after Hail's destruction. Father was the commanding figure during that time, as brother's body was still adapting to his abnormal battle power. The first months were the most troublesome, as his power continued to grow almost endlessly. It reached a point where not even father and I could any longer withstand the pressure he generated. We left him in space, amidst the debris of our planet. With a spacecraft light-years away, we monitored his movements, hoping he'd come to control his power naturally. It was everything we could do, as even Tsufruian technology seemed incapable of containing brother. I thought that brother would be able to easily control his power once he reached full maturity, so distancing ourselves from him, even for a short amount of time, was the correct decision. Freeza would not put our safety in jeopardy, as such. This procedure much displeased father, who had hoped he would have had a much more active role in controlling Freeza's power. Such discontent didn't stop him, however, from expanding the empire even without brother's assistance. The destruction of his kingdom didn't seem to agitate him much. Rather, it appeared to me that he became even more motivated to proceed with his original plan of subjugating more and more planets to his rule. He conquered multiple civilizations just as he promised, and just as he had hoped his father would have done whilst king.

Brother was in pain. He screamed and had violent outbursts which destroyed nearby planets. It was obvious that such an abnormal power was too much to handle. His body could have been shred to pieces, but brother was resilient. I pitied him at times. It sounds ridiculous to say so, I should have envied him as I do now, but my mind was always flooded with sorrow whenever brother was in misery. Even so, though I may hold feelings of affection towards Freeza, all the resentment I feel for him for having ruined my destiny far surpasses that. I had worked so hard to become so powerful after being humiliated in the royal army, after being humiliated by my own father when I was a child. Then, my little brother is born and far surpasses my efforts and easily obtains father's acknowledgment with little trouble... It's a strange feeling. I can't help but feel proud of him the more I consider the situation.

A few years after brother managed to somewhat control his power, at least to the point where he didn't accidentally destroy a planet by stepping on it, his body undertook a sort of mutation. Freeza created what he calls his "suppression forms": three forms with the intent of limiting and controlling his battle power. It's incredible how even the weakest of these forms is enough to rule over the empire that father gifted him. I would imagine father would feel humiliated that his son completely outclasses him. After all, even after his own father died, he was still bitter that he could never surpass him. But that isn't the case, he's proud of Freeza, to the point where he gifted him the majority of his empire as soon as he learned about these suppression forms. A small part has also been handed to me, but I suspect father only did so to prevent me from protesting.

Father may not feel humiliation, but the truth is that I do. The last and only time I engaged in a bout with my brother, after years of training in solitude in preparation for that day, he shamed me with less than ten percent of his true form's battle power. It was such a massacre that father had to intervene himself. Of course brother could have been bluffing in regards to the figure, but I always hesitate in doubting his boasts. He pressed my head against the floor and was prepared to take my life without any regret. At that moment, fear overcame my anger and my shame. That fear, however, remained within my heart, never to be displayed to him. Freeza would never respect me a warrior, and as his brother, if I openly showcased my dread.

I think I've reached the point where I can lay those memories to rest. I've spent every single day since that crushing defeat training with the singular purpose of surpassing my brother. Like him, I've learned to create suppression forms. To me, that skill is unnecessary, useless I would even say, as I have been able to easily control my true form's full power since childhood. So, instead, I took the knowledge of how to perform such a metamorphosis and created a new form that pushes my body beyond its absolute limit. In exchange for incredible power, I won't be able to control myself in this state, but that's a fair trade, I presume. With this brand new augmentation form, I have made history for the Hailans.

Hailans, huh…? Am I still attached to my own species this much, forty years after they've perished? No, that can't be it. That feeling of pride is useless now. Father has long since discarded it and so should I. What is my goal? I know for a fact that I've surpassed Freeza. Should I now challenge my brother? Humiliate him just as he did to me? If I do as such, then my name will be etched into the universe's history. That's it! I, Coola, will take control over the empire with this new power. Such as father originally planned, his first-born son will rule over the entire universe.

"Lord Coola, it seems that Freeza has missed one Saiyan space pod, should we shoot it down?"

"…No, let it be."

Do I really want that?


	3. Unbreakable Limit

I remember what my father's last words to me were. On his deathbed, he called for me. At the time, I thought of him as a fool. As always, he was sitting at the throne. It seemed like that man would never leave it. I had cursed him my entire life for that decision. His once prideful, imposing self had been reduced to a pitiful, pathetic sight. He was at the end of his life and what did he have to show for it? A handful of planets under his name, when his power was enough to rule over the entire universe. I thought of my father's choice as revolting. Perhaps what I always found more repulsive was the fact that he never once offered to justify his decision. That is, until that day.

"I feel like I owe you an explanation." My father, the king, knew I hated him. This sounded, to me, like a desperate act to redeem himself in his son's eyes. However, I entered the room already with the mindset that he could not influence my opinion of him. He must have known that.

"That won't change anything."

"You've always questioned me. Why I never expanded upon my… our empire. And why I've always prohibited you from doing so. The truth is…" A pause to cough. "When I was younger, I was like you. You know that already, it's all over the history books. King Artic, the young conqueror, who travelled across the galaxy to expand on the Hailan empire. The first king to do since Chilled."

"But why did you stop?"

"I crashed into a wall."

"What do you mean?"

Father gazed at me, his eyes filled with sorrow. He made a conscious effort not to regret his decision. It was too late to forget the conversation, he knew I wouldn't leave the room without an answer.

"Lord Beerus, the God of Destruction."

"I thought he was a myth."

"He's not a myth. I met him and he disgraced me. Me, the greatest king of Hail. I was so confident in my power and I could barely touch him." Father was shaking. "Do you understand now? The kingdom will be yours, son. Do as what you want with it. But if you follow the footsteps of my younger self, you'll eventually reach the same wall."

"And what makes you think I won't break that wall to pieces?"

"Part of being a good leader is knowing your limit, son. Acknowledging that limit and living your life with no regrets. You are still a child in this respect... I've failed to live my life with no regrets. It seems I am one too."

I left the room without uttering another word. Father died on that day. Rather than a fool, I viewed him now as a coward. But it would only be ironic that I find myself now in a similar situation as my father did all those years ago. This seemingly innocuous purple cat infiltrated the spaceship and now stands before me.

"Who are you?" The answer to which I already know, it could be no other than Lord Beerus, the person that father warned me about on the day he passed. With a glance, my knees dropped to the floor.

"Now that's better… Why was I here, again?"

"I do believe we're here because of Lord Kaioshin." The tall blue-skinned creature next to him said.

"Ah, that's right," Beerus replied. Then, he looked at me. "Kaioshin told me your family seems to be getting carried away again. He tells me that you're under the impression that you rule over the universe. You're "King" Cold, I presume? That title is a bit meaningless now, don't you think?"

"What… What do you mean?" I had to muster all the strength in my body in order to respond.

"I mean, that empire… it isn't yours, is it?" Of course it is! Freeza is merely a projection of my ideals, of my essence. It is my goal that is firmly ingrained in Freeza's being. "Well, I'm going to ask you politely. You better keep your rule limited to this galaxy, or else." As he phrased this, he looked down at me, as if a king looking down on a peasant. What is this feeling? Is it shame? Fear, perhaps? Both are new sensations to me. Is this what father felt? "I'm already being generous, you know? A God like me normally isn't. Under normal circumstances, I'd just wipe you and your entire family out. Kaioshin would rather not deal with the trouble himself. But, you know, your son, Freeza, is it? Well, your son is actually doing a good job of destroying planets for me, so killing him would be a bit of a bother."

"That's awfully lazy of you, Lord Beerus."

"Shut it, Whis. Anyway, as I was saying, don't overstep your boundaries, Cold. We wouldn't want any more problems. Thinking about it… your other son is pretty expendable." He smirked and looked at me with those same eyes again, those eyes that seek blood. The same eyes that I've displayed, the same eyes that Freeza has displayed when a civilization is obliterated. An uncomfortable feeling is running through my body. "I don't need to make my message here any louder, do I?"

"N… No, sir. Freeza's empire will remain located within this galaxy. I'll make sure of it."

"That's perfect. Let's go, Whis. And step on it! I don't want to miss today's episode of Astro Boy before going to bed."

"Yes, Lord Beerus." The two creatures disappeared in a blinding flash of light. I can move once again, though I'm strangely out of breath. Lord Beerus, is this the "wall" that father spoke to me about? His presence is certainly towering, but I have Freeza on my side. With him, I'm unbeatable. Still, I have to think about my next move very carefully, I should at least warn Freeza about him.

"Father, I must talk to you." A voice enters the room.

"What is it, Coola?"

"It's about Freeza…" Coola takes a second to gather his words. "I think it's unwise to keep using Freeza like he's your pawn, father."

"Nonsense. Freeza enjoys it." Whether or not he enjoys it is irrelevant, Coola is right. I'm using Freeza as a tool to achieve everything I had hoped my father would. But I can't stop now, Freeza is my last hope to break that barrier that turned my father into a coward.

"Then, if you won't see reason, I have something to ask of you."

"What is it, Papa?" Freeza faces me and his brother, sitting in his comfortable hovering chair, as usual. The trip took us three hours, we had to travel across multiple solar systems to fulfill Coola's request.

"Coola here wants to challenge you for the empire."

"Hohoho… Does he, now? Brother, surely you must know your power is not a match for mine?"

"We've never tested that before."

"Then… Shall we fight in a deserted planet?"

"Yes, that would be ideal."

It did not take long to find a barren planet large enough to withstand their full power, if they happen to get serious enough. I agreed to be the referee of the bout and to intervene if matters get too hectic. Much to mine and Coola's surprise, Freeza powered-up to his true form.

"I suppose it's in this form that you wish to fight me, right? I expect you to be able to handle this state."

Coola did not reply.

"Hoho, nervous, are you, big brother? That's not necessary. This is a brotherly spar, after all." Freeza closed his eyes and smiled, in an ostensibly innocent manner. But he smirked in the same way I've seen him do countless times before slaughtering his opponent. "Let's see," he held up his hands, fingers spread. "I'd say about ten percent would be enough to settle this."

"Underestimating me will be your undoing."

"Hoho, well then… Shall we begin?"

The two clashed. It was obvious from the beginning that Freeza had the advantage. What do you intend to prove, Coola? This situation is reminiscent of the time you enlisted in the royal army. Everyone had big hopes for you, the grandchild of the king, born with a battle power of ten thousand. Everyone but your father. You enrolled because you felt you had been forced to. You told me that day. That I made you feel weak, that a son being born with your battle power would be something to feel proud of, but you sensed only disappointment coming from my words and actions.

And so, you endured the humiliation that the elite army put you through. They mocked your inexperience and they ridiculed your lack of power. How could a member of the royal family be so weak? But you eventually proved them wrong. You took that scorn and excelled, far surpassing their initial expectations; you trained for several months until you surpassed the strongest elite. You could have stopped there, I was already proud of you, but you didn't. You continued getting stronger, you almost reached my level. That's when I was convinced that you would be a rightful successor to me.

"Freeza, stop it!" The situation seems to be getting out of hand. Freeza doesn't even have a scratch on him, as was to be expected, but Coola is bleeding heavily.

"Oh, Papa, we're still sparring." Freeza steps on Coola's head and starts hammering it with his foot. "You can still continue, isn't that right, big brother?"

"That's… That's right, father, I can still go on!"

"No, this is enough! Stop it, Freeza, do you hear me?" He doesn't heed my word, as he continues to pummel his brother into critical condition. "Obey me!"

He's not stopping. He's going to kill my son. I have to stop him!

I fired an energy blast. It stopped Freeza before he delivered the finishing blow. How… How _dare_ you disobey me? You... **_freak_**! You exist because of _me_. Your title, your power, your empire... they're all _mine_! Yet you show yourself to be this ungrateful? You _dare_ try to kill _my_ son?

…What's with that look? Why are you looking at me that way? That's the same look that Beerus gave me. Stop that! I am _not_ beneath you! I can see it in your eyes… that hatred. That's the same feeling. The same unpleasant feeling that compels me to take a step back.

Am I sweating? Is this fear?

You're not my tool. You're not the weapon to help me break that wall. You're far too dangerous to be that. Are _you_ that wall...? No, that isn't it, either. I understand now, this is what Coola was trying to show me. You're my son. But your existence, Freeza, limits me to a life of fear.

I'm the same as my father... Will I learn to live with my limit?


	4. Destiny

My earliest memories prove that it was unclear to me who or what I was for a long period of time, as crushing solitude is what could best define what my early life consisted of. I can travel back in time to the point where I've met my father and brother. Before then, I have faint memories of floundering in pain through nothingness; brother has told me that it relates to the time soon after I was born and my body tried to adapt to my power. They, Papa more-so, picked me up from the void of space and treated me with unconditional courtesy. I remember Papa's first words to me. He began by introducing himself and Coola. Then, he proceeded to elucidate me on who precisely I was and what my role in the universe was supposed to be. "You are Freeza, my son and keeper of the greatest might in the universe," this is what he had told me.

Papa had told me I would gain rule over the empire once I managed to control my power. At first, I was unsure if this was truly what I wanted, as I had learned nothing from life besides what my father and brother taught me. But Papa seemed keen on the idea, he told me my name would be immortalized in the history of the universe. It took me some time to develop my suppression forms; they were, to me, a better alternative than simply exerting myself and having to endure the pain needed to control my full power in my true form. When I managed to create these forms, Papa gave me what he described as my "legacy", the empire I now rule over. However, as soon as Papa began instructing me, I started to relish on the slaughter, on the authority. I soon realized that he was right and this had always been my birth right. It was my destiny to be the ruler of the entire universe.

Interactions with my brother Coola have always been scarce. The few times we've spoke, he tried to lecture me on how to rule the empire or better control my power. Advice that, frankly, I could do without. Or he went on and on about how glorious our species was, information that I, once again, could not care less about; an extinct species is no longer relevant to current affairs. I've always thought of him as more of a nuisance, but a tolerable one. But there was a time where he angered me extremely. That was when brother decided to challenge me for my title. I vividly remember the exact thoughts that ran through my head as we clashed.

"You are a fool, brother. You've refused the opportunity to stop this pathetic display just to satisfy your own pride. What is this meant to prove? To prove to Papa that you are worthy of the empire and not I? Do you think of me as a joke? You dare face me when this is all you amount to? Do you think stealing everything I've earned is as easy as governing over that lousy quadrant Papa has gifted you? Look at where your insolence has gotten you. You're now groveling at your dear brother's feet… Blood trickling down your mouth when I've barely exerted myself. Are you truly my brother?

What a rotten sight.

Your portion of the empire will manage well without its second-rate ruler. Papa will do just fine without his pitiful excuse of a son. And I will have forgotten all about your miserable existence tomorrow. This is farewell."

Yes, these thoughts ran through my mind as I prepared myself to take my brother's life just as easily as I had taken the lives of multiple civilizations before and since. But someone stood in my way. That someone was none other than Papa. Papa, whom I had in great consideration, and who I had believed also held me in great consideration. He fired an energy blast that I had to block with my hand.

I remember. At the moment, I was most concerned not with what Papa was thinking or the way he was looking at me, let alone how Coola's state. Rather, I was most concerned with my hand. Papa's attack bruised me. Blood oozed down my palm, as if mocking me. It stung. It hurt... It hurt a lot! I looked at Papa and soon I realized that he wasn't the person I've always thought he was. No, that was when I realized that I was alone, as I've always been.

"It appears I may have gotten a bit carried away. Ohoho, I must wash away the filth from my hand. If you'll excuse me."

From that moment forth I decided to discard any of Papa's lectures and rule the empire my own way. However, as I observed during the time that followed, Papa seemed no longer interested in the empire and seemed to put his trust in me to rule it as I saw fit. I can't say I wasn't slightly disappointed I could not object against Papa's wishes as I had decided, but the freedom to rule without the need to pay attention to his political strategies was refreshing. The empire always had competition, specifically from pirates within the galaxy and other empires in the neighbouring galaxies. I'm unaware of the power of their rulers, as I've never challenged them or vice-versa. However, we conduct business in a very straightforward manner. My armies exterminate a planet in order to sell it to those organizations. Papa thought of this manner of business as unnecessary, as, in his mind, I could easily conquer the territory of his rivals. He wasn't wrong, of course. To me, however, this manner of business was the best way to savor the slaughter and let it continue for decades. If one civilization is wiped out, the planet is then sold and another species takes the place of the fallen. Decades later this new civilization would be exterminated again and the planet sold once more. The entire universe would eventually be under my grasp anyway, so any rebellion coming from the buyers would be irrelevant in the long run. It would just be a way to guarantee their extinction earlier.

I heard news that a very useful species amongst our armies had been annihilated: the Tsufruians. The ones who drove them to extinction were the Saiyans, a warrior species not native to planet Plant, which had now been renamed to planet Vegeta. It was time to meet the new king of the planet and make sure he was aware of his place in the pecking order.

Zarbon and Dodoria took care of most of the heavy work: defeating the guards and opening the doors of the palace. I merely followed them around comfortably in my hovering chair until it came to the time to meet the king.

"King Vegeta, I presume?"

"Who is this? What do you want?" He demanded answers, frightened by the ease with which my underlings took care of his top guards.

"You really didn't hope to take over a planet and expect no repercussion, did you?" I rose from my chair and began walking slowly towards his direction. "The Tsufruians were under my command. Surely you, too, must know about me unless you've destroyed every bit of information they possessed. Something of the sort would be counter-intuitive to building a successful kingdom. So let's not be coy here, shall we, king?"

"Freeza—"

"Lord Freeza," I interrupted with a callous tone. "In fact, don't continue. I have no desire of listening to any pitiful excuses you may concoct to try to save your own life. Out of consideration for the fighting prowess your species has, I'll allow you to live. Be grateful. In exchange, your entire kingdom will work for me and we will use the remaining Tsufruian infrastructure for our own benefit. Planet Vegeta's technology will be at the disposal of the engineers and scientists of the Freeza empire. Such impressive technology will naturally be put to better use by the finest brains of the empire than the primitive simians running rampant in this planet would." I couldn't help but chuckle at my own assessment. It didn't seem to please the king but he held his mouth shut. "I assume this proposal seems acceptable."

"Absolutely not!" A voice stormed inside the room. "Where's your Saiyan pride, father?"

"V… Vegeta…"

"We won't be subjugated to the likes of you!" The child, prince Vegeta, assumed a battle stance. At the time I could not recognize it, but later I learned it's representative of the Saiyan elite.

Dodoria and Zarbon immediately prepared for battle as well, to defeat the child that opposed me. "That won't be necessary," I discarded the need for their assistance with a hand wave and both of them secluded themselves to the side. "Is this wretch yours, Mr. Vegeta? My, my… It seems the prince hasn't learned the same humility as the king."

Vegeta tried to strike me down with his fist but it was a fruitless effort. I dodged the hit and put him down with a simple punch to the face. "Hoho, are you bleeding? It looks like I didn't hold myself back enough."

"You bastard!"

"Tell me something, prince. You are the strongest of your species, isn't that correct? Your father probably doesn't know about that. Or, if he does, he's probably suppressing your abilities, not letting you shine as you could do without his guidance," I held my hand towards him and picked him up. "Follow me. Oh, and don't worry, Mr. Vegeta. I'll be sure to return your son without another scratch on him." My smile was enough to let the king speechless yet again.

Surprisingly enough, prince Vegeta followed me without another complaint. It seems his curiosity overwhelmed his anger. We travelled to a neighboring planet, the trip took less than an hour. I instructed prince Vegeta to exterminate the creatures on the planet in less than a day. No other instructions were given, he was free to do as he pleased. Despite slight hesitation at first, Vegeta soon found himself basking in the bloodshed and becoming enchanted with how powerful he truly was. He and I were not so different, so I knew precisely what his heart yearned for.

I destroyed his planet a few years later, but spared him by sending him, as well as a few of his comrades, out on a mission a few days prior. He proved himself to be a useful and powerful warrior, though perhaps not the most loyal. But are any of them loyal? Every one of my subjects is loyal purely out of fear, at least I assume so. And I have no other reason to assume otherwise, power has always proved to bring solitude along with it. Regardless, wasting such talents as prince Vegeta's would be unproductive. And I'm pleased I didn't, because it is due to him that I now have the knowledge that planet Namek possesses wish orbs, the so-called "Dragon Balls", which are able to grant any desire.

I will become immortal and rule for all of eternity. That is my destiny.


	5. The Super Saiyan (bonus chapter)

Millennia ago, the Hailan royal family palace had been disquieted. The king of the time felt threatened by one of his soldiers and, as such, organized a meeting with his most loyal subjects to decide on his fate. Chilled, the subject of discussion, was a young soldier, uncharacteristically short, but one born with an immense battle power compared to the rest of the species. In a few years, he had risen to the top ranks of the army and had a power comparable to that of the king. It had been, for everyone, a surprise, considering his father had been a lowly commoner, unfit enough to even enter into the military. Gelid, the king, had soon realized the enormous potential of growth the prodigy possessed. Were he to realize that his power already rivalled the king's at such a young age, then he would certainly challenge him for the title. Were that to happen, the result would, most likely, favor the youth due to the king's old age and combat rust. Wishing to preserve his legacy, the king and his subjects came up with a plan: Chilled would be sent on a "special assignment" alone to a planet far into the galaxy; his mission would consist of exterminating its natives, for they allegedly, to his knowledge, posed a threat to Hail. What the king had concocted, however, was a plan that would leave Chilled to die in the void of space: a self-destruction mechanism was to be implanted into the space shuttle that the young soldier was going to be boarding. Chilled was a public figure, a celebrity of sorts. His absence was, for certain, going to be noted. The king did not worry. As space travel had still been a relatively new invention for the Hailans, the king counted on the commoners to not suspect any malfunction taking away Chilled's life. In fact, he would be praised as a hero for risking his very being on such a dangerous mission.

When the Hailan realized that he had been betrayed, it had already been far too late to save himself. The shuttle's flight mechanisms ceased to function one day, leaving Chilled isolated in the vacuum of space for years to come. He was incapable of returning to his home planet, as it remained light-years away. His best chance of survival was to drift through space in hopes of finding a planet with the necessary resources to sustain himself with.

In decades, he found two. He had been extremely lucky, as the first one satiated his thirst. The planet had water, not in its liquid state but he could manage with ice. Since, unlike other lifeforms on his home planet, the Hailans did not possess the need to breathe, oxygen wasn't a concern. What had been a concern for a long time, however, was food. He would be able to feed himself upon arriving to the second planet. Hailans could sustain themselves for relatively long with nothing but water, but being able to sustain one's self for such a long period of time as the one Chilled endured and not die of starvation was nothing short of a miracle. When he arrived to the second planet, he found not only lifeforms he could kill and feast on to restore his body's full strength, but the planet, a very hot one, seemingly unfavorable to life as the Hailans had known it, also hosted intelligent life. And these lifeforms had, just like the Hailans, developed the necessary tools for space travel. They, the Dessertians, were far more advanced, in fact. This benefited Chilled greatly.

He coerced the natives into aiding him. Despite the initial resistance, they became submissive to Chilled almost instantaneously after he displayed his immense power. He forced them to add the prefix "Lord" when calling for him. It had a nice ring to it, he thought. At his command, they built him a spaceship, but could not, however, find his home planet. It was likely due to the fact that Hail had been very inactive in space affairs. Chilled was very dissatisfied that he could not exact his revenge upon the king and his people for wronging him all those years ago for no apparent reason. He manifested his anger through attacks on neighboring planets and became a powerful space pirate. This influence and territory he had managed to gather made his planet a distant memory in the decades that followed, as the scale of his worldview widened and he began to do business with beings just as important and just as powerful as he was.

Despite those years in space hindering his potential growth, his power had still mutated to abnormal levels. In the years that he ruled over a part of the galaxy as a pirate, he birthed a son, whom he was very proud of. And, likewise, his son, Polar, whose power rivalled Chilled's, was proud of his father's achievements. Even so, there was something that had bothered him incessantly. He heard the story from his father the moment he asked more about their species, the story about how Chilled had been forsaked by his own king. He could not help but seek out the top astronomers working under his father (or his allies) in order to find planet Hail. If his father did not wish to do it himself, then he would deliver justice on his own. After years of searching using nothing but blind investigations and Chilled's questionable memory about the planet's position, they managed to finally find it.

Chilled had been uninterested for a long time in acting against his former king. He considered affairs with the planet far too unimportant to need his attention. But his son managed to convince him otherwise: by annexing the planet, he would be able to gather powerful fighters and conquer his rivals. And so, Chilled left for the planet where, after the initial commotion over his return, he challenged and killed the king, becoming the planet's new ruler. Keeping the planets he had already occupied as a pirate under him, he created an empire, the famous Hailan empire which would be passed down for generations to come.

Side-by-side, Chilled and his son conquered multiple planets and expanded on their empire throughout the entire galaxy. However, their conquests came to a halt when the two decided to invade a seemingly innocuous and easy to conquer planet. The name of this planet was Sadla. It was home to an underdeveloped and barbaric species, the Saiyans. With a fighting style that rivalled their looks, they were no match for Chilled and his troops.

However, it was on that planet that Chilled faced his greatest ever opponent. The "Super Saiyan" completely decimated both him and his son. Polar managed to escape in one of the spaceships, but his father perished in battle, as well as all of the soldiers. Polar kept the Super Saiyan's existence a secret, as his pride would not allow for him to admit his father had been killed. As he took the throne, he explained that his father had passed away from a mysterious illness he caught on one of his usual raids. Since he presumably caught this disease by being on the frontlines all the time, he would have a safer approach to conquest, he explained further. Some of the Hailans doubted his claims. A conspiracy theory was created that Polar had killed his father in order to usurp the throne, but since no evidence was ever substantiated, it never gathered more than a couple of hundred followers.

The tale of this mighty foe was passed from king to king, in order to discourage reckless behavior. Future kings should be discouraged from getting overly cocky and underestimate their opponent, dying amidst the process of building on the empire. This was Polar's objective but it seems that the kings that succeeded him got so terrified by the legend, or what it meant, that they became cowards who refused to leave the comfort of their home planet and fight alongside their troops, despite their enormous power. The empire's growth became stagnant.

This trend would be broken by King Artic, the young conqueror with the tenacity needed to lead and expand on the glory of Hail. He paid no attention to a myth he had considered silly, the myth that had terrorized his family for generations. Partly because planet Sadla had been destroyed due to internal conflict, according to investigations done on the Saiyans, but also because he had believed such myths limited Hail's true greatness and he had been prepared to risk his life to accomplish his goals.

Such naivety would come to strike him down. He came face-to-face with the powerful God of Destruction Beerus, who reminded him no matter how many planets he had conquered, how strong he had thought he was, he was nothing but a mere ant to such an entity. And so Artic lived the remainder of his life in fear, passively. Doing the exact same thing he had criticized past kings for doing. The legend of the mighty Super Saiyan died with the king, as he never bothered to inform his son about it.

However, even if lost among the memory of the Hailans, it was never lost among the Saiyans. The Super Saiyan had been remembered throughout Saiyan culture as one who harnessed the true power of the Saiyans once he surpassed his limits. According to popular folklore, he had defeated a horned demon but lost himself in the process and perished eventually. The myth had never been forgotten but its prevalence among Saiyan culture kept decreasing throughout time. Until Freeza became their ruler, that is. The similarity between Freeza and the demon of legend caused the myth to resurface and become a symbol of hope for the Saiyans who one day had hoped to oppose his tyranny.

But it would not take long until the myth reached Freeza's ears. He thought not much of it at first. However, the Saiyan's rapid potential for improvement implanted a small fear in the back of his mind: that even if this "Super Saiyan" was just an overhyped fable the Saiyans so desperately clung on to, the simian trash in large numbers could pose a threat. This compelled him to destroy planet Vegeta, leaving behind a scarce number of survivors whom he did not bother to kill as he had grown to like their usefulness. One lowly Saiyan opposed him, but he would fade from destiny as soon as he came. As he watched the planet crumble under the weight of his energy sphere, he couldn't help but crack a smile. And then, he started laughing. Louder and louder as he delighted himself with what he thought to be such beautiful fireworks.


End file.
